Qualcomm secures key victory despite mistrial, Arm to seek retrial over custom Snapdragon chips
Update (Dec. 20, 7:45 p.m. ET): Added statement from Arm spokesperson.
What you need to know
- A jury sided with Qualcomm in a key legal battle over the company’s custom Oryon CPU cores, which power Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon 8 Elite.
- Arm said in a statement that it plans to seek a retrial following the jury’s deadlocked verdict.
- The decision means that Qualcomm can continue to sell products with processors designed using Nuvia tech.
Arm’s lawsuit against Qualcomm over the chipmaker’s custom CPU cores ended in a mistrial Friday, Dec. 20, as Reuters first reported. The mistrial verdict leaves some uncertainty around Arm’s grievances with Qualcomm, and Arm said in a statement it planned to seek a retrial. However, a jury decided that Qualcomm had a valid license for its Nuvia cores — a central issue of the dispute between the two companies.
The trial ended in a mistrial because the jury couldn’t unanimously agree on whether or not Nuvia breached its agreement with Arm. However, the judge presiding over the case cautioned the two companies about seeking a retrial.
“I don’t think either side had a clear victory or would have had a clear victory if this case is tried again,” said U.S. Judge Maryellen Noreika in the courtroom, as reported by Reuters.
The judge encouraged the two companies to resolve their dispute privately rather than seek another lawsuit, as Judge Noreika seemed convinced that a new trial would lead to the same uncertain result. However, in a statement to Android Central, Arm said it plans to seek a retrial.
“We are disappointed that the jury was unable to reach consensus across the claims. We intend to seek a retrial due to the jury’s deadlock,” an Arm spokesperson told Android Central in an email. “From the outset, our top priority has been to protect Arm’s IP and the unparalleled ecosystem we have built with our valued partners over more than 30 years. As always, we are committed to fostering innovation in our rapidly evolving market and serving our partners while advancing the future of computing.”
Qualcomm, for one, is satisfied by the jury’s decision and the trial’s conclusion.
“We are pleased with today’s decision. The jury has vindicated Qualcomm’s right to innovate and affirmed that all the Qualcomm products at issue in the case are protected by Qualcomm’s contract with Arm,” said Ann Chaplin, Qualcomm’s general counsel, in a statement emailed to Android Central. “We will continue to develop performance-leading, world class products that benefit consumers worldwide, with our incredible Oryon ARM-compliant custom CPUs.”
Arm sued Qualcomm two years ago when the two companies disagreed about what royalties were owed to Arm for Qualcomm’s use of custom CPU designs. Things were complicated by Qualcomm’s purchase of startup chip designer Nuvia for $1.4 billion in 2021. The issue concerned whether Qualcomm had valid licenses to the Arm designs originally licensed to Nuvia before the acquisition. These designs led to the creation of Qualcomm’s custom Oryon cores, which powered Snapdragon X Elite, and later, Snapdragon 8 Elite.
Matters became more serious over the summer, when Arm said it wanted all Snapdragon X laptops “destroyed.” Money and royalties were at the heart of the disagreement, since court documents viewed by Reuters revealed that Qualcomm’s acquisition of Nuvia could’ve cost Arm $50 million in lost revenue.
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